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A good digital thermometer keeps me from serving dry overcooked food or dangerously undercooked food. You can get a professional grade, fast and precise splashproof thermometer like the Thermopop (above) for about $24. The Thermapen (below), the Ferrari of instant reads, is about $96. It's the one you see all the TV chefs and all the top competition pitmasters using. Click here to read more about types of thermometer and our ratings and reviews.

GrillGrates(TM) amplify heat, prevent flareups, make flipping foods easier, produce great grill marks, keep small foods from committing suicide, kill hotspots, are easier to clean, flip over to make a fine griddle, smolder wood right below the meat, and can be easily removed and moved from one grill to another. You can even throw wood chips or pellets or sawdust between the rails and deliver a quick burst of smoke to whatever is above. Every gas grill and pellet smoker needs them.

If you have a Weber Kettle, you need the amazing Smokenator and Hovergrill. The Smokenator turns your grill into a first class smoker, and the Hovergrill can add capacity or be used to create steakhouse steaks.

Absolutely positively without a doubt the best bargain on a smoker in the world.

This baby will cook circles around the cheap offset sideways barrel smokers in the hardware stores because temperature control is so much easier (and that's because smoke and heat go up, not sideways).

Made of rugged 1/8" thick aluminum, 20" long, with four serious rivets, mine show zero signs of weakness after years of abuse. I use them on meats, hot charcoal, burning logs, and with the mechanical advantage that the scissor design creates, I can easily pick up a whole packer brisket. Click here to read more.

Mo's Smoking Pouch is essential for gas grills. It is an envelope of mesh 304 stainless steel that holds wood chips or pellets. The airspaces in the mesh are small enough that they limit the amount of oxygen that gets in so the wood smokes and never bursts into flame. Put it on top of the cooking grate, on the burners, on the coals, or stand it on edge at the back of your grill. It holds enough wood for about 15 minutes for short cooks, so you need to refill it or buy a second pouch for long cooks like pork shoulder and brisket. Mine has survived more than 50 cooks. Click for more info.

The same knives used at Peter Luger, Smith & Wollensky, and Morton's. Machine washable, high-carbon stainless steel, hardwood handle. And now they have the AmazingRibs.com imprimatur. Click for more info.

Our Team Of Writers, Reviewers, Consultants, And Editors

Some very important people I need to thank

I owe a lot of thanks to a lot of nice folks who have taught me and helped me on this trial by fire, especially all you readers who have questioned, commented, spell-checked, and criticized.

My wife, the saucy Lou, Ph.D., a microbiologist and food safety expert who hates it when I use her kitchen, forcing me outdoors, and now fearlessly eats my cooking (well, most of it), offers honest feedback on my recipes (brutally honest), and has patience with me (most of the time).

My Mom and Dad, Norma and Jerry Goldwyn, my sister Ann and her husband Peter. Some of my first food memories are meals at Mom & Dad's short-lived restaurant in Sarasota, Florida. When they bought the place, it had the romantic name of a local flowering bush, the Oleander. When they found out Oleanders are poisonous, it became Jerry's restaurant. The food was good, especially the ice cream sundaes, and the paintings from the local artists that they hung were inspirational. They let me be a jerk when I was 13. A soda jerk that is. What a great start to a career in food, drink, and art. Peter cooks the absolutely best swordfish steaks on the planet. Click here to read my Dad's WWII Memoir.

My amazing agent and stern taskmistress, Sally Ekus of the Lisa Ekus Group, her Mom, Lisa, who invited me to join her family of distinguished authors, and their staff who are effective and efficient.

My editor at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Rux Martin, who has welcomed me to her small but prestigious stable of cookbook authors including such luminaries as Jacques Pepin, Dorie Greenspan, Jack Bishop, and Karen Tack.

The scientists who have read my work and helped me fix it, among them Dr. Benjamin Chapman of North Carolina State University, Dr. John Marcy of the University of Arkansas, the prefers to remain anonymous researcher at the big poultry company, and others who patiently answer my questions about hamburger boogers and more.

Stephen Gerike of the Pork Checkoff trade association is a chef, butcher, and their liason to the foodservice industry. He more about pork than anybody I've met and often he lets some of his expertise rub off on me.

Marietta Sims. Marietta was my Sous Chef and Assistant in 2012. She has retired and moved to South Carolina where they make great barbecue. Perhaps mine wasn't good enough?

Jaden Hair of SteamyKitchen.com a talented food blogger who has introduced me to many cool people and ideas.

The three Sterling fellows in my life: Sterling Ball of BigPoppaSmokers.com who turned me on to many good cooking tools and methods, Colin Sterling, my former editor at Huffington Post for giving me prime real estate and freedom to write what I want in his august food section, and Sterling Pratt, formerly of Schaefer's Wines & Spirits in Skokie, IL, my favorite wine, beer, and cheese store.

Allen Kelson, an occasional editor of these pages, now mostly retired, was publisher, editor-in-chief, and head food critic at Chicago Magazine for many years. When he edits me he makes me sound like a better writer than I am.

Garry Howard, who runs the Smokering List, a free email mailing list about barbecue and cooking to which I subscribe. The talented cooks who hang out with there offer merciless feedback and are an amazing fount of information. Many have tested my recipes and corrected them, and more than a few have dug up typos and other errors. Among them, in alphabetic order: Sandra Aylor, Lucy Baker, Kevin Cleek, Bruce Cook, Erv Crain, John R. Crowley, Gerry Curry, Buzz Dean, John Douglas, Dave Frary, Dan Gill, Ed Hood, Greg Hunter & Nancee Gell, Rodney Leist, Stan Marks, Bill Martin, Scot Murphy, Merrill Powers, Mark Stevens, Jack Waiboer, Candy Weaver, Joe Wells, "Big Jim" Whitten, and Jack Wimberly. I am sure I have missed several for which I am very sorry.

Marlene Atkins, formerly of the Le Cordon Bleu in Chicago. She hired me to teach there and mentored me. That’s where I met Chefs Tim Bucci, Mark Stanley, Tom Beckman, and so many others who answered my stupid questions as I started this project.

Keith and Renee Miller, my friends, neighbors, dogsitters, and candid critics. I can always count on Keith for an honest opinion and, as a captain in the Pleasantview Fire Department, he brought me feedback from the firemen who survived my experiments. Also, thanks to their son Keith Miller III, a.k.a. "Lieutenant Lawnboy" who cut my lawn for many years, helped me move things and pitched in on household projects. He is now a cadet at West Point. You go guy.

Bronson "Bronnie" Smith, also of the South Carolina Barbeque Association, my guide to the joints of South Carolina. He matched me bite for bite all week long. He also took me to Jackie Hite's Bar-B-Que. And now I can die.

Myron Mixon, Chris Lilly, and the many other patient barbecue chefs I've met and quizzed at their restaurants and competitions across the nation.

Lynn and Tom Kimble of Leader Dogs for the Blind. They have been instrumental in helping us with our other great love, training dogs. Sport, Wags, Layla, Jazz, and Sunshine are now dragging blind people around, and they added so much to our lives when they lived with us.

Peter Parts, and industrialist and philanthropist, and amazing leader, who got me involved with Camp Good Days, an incredible summer camp for kids with cancer.

Julia Child, who, through the TV screen, told me in the '60s that I could cook. I remember watching her in black and white when I was in college and trying her recipes on my roommates. I was honored to be a guest in her house for a dinner in 1995, and she was everything you think and more. In her last television interview, with Sarah Moulton on the Food Network, in the summer of 2004, she said "I think food is important and if you don’t know how to cook, it’s tragic." Amen.

Etienne Merle, proprietor and chef of the late lamented L'Auberge du Cochon Rouge, a magnificent French restaurant in Ithaca, NY, who allowed me apprentice in his kitchen for a while, until he decided it was time to kill me. With good reason. I learned soooo much in such a short time. I have never met a more talented chef.

The helpful librarians I have met, especially Barbara Cline and Elizabeth Hansen at the LBJ Library and Museum in Austin; Flo Turcotte,Mil Willis, Richard Phillips, James Cusick, and Paul Losch at the University of Florida Library (Go Gators!); Charlotte Priddle of the Fales Library & Special Collections at NYU; the librarians at the New York Public Library; Harold Washington Library in Chicago; the University of Tennessee in Knoxville; the Library of Congress in DC; the University of South Carolina's Caroliniana Collection in Columbia; the Florida State Library in Tallahassee; University of Memphis; and John Struble of the George Eastman House in Rochester, NY. If there is a more helpful, friendly profession, I'd like to hear about it.

Steve Jobs and Alton Brown who have been role models.

And the gods of grape, grain, and fire who have looked over me so far.

All the articles, recipes, and tips on technique, on AmazingRibs.com are written by Meathead but I stand on the shoulders of some very helpful people, listen alphabetically.

Brigit Binns, Culinary Consultant, Confidant

Brigit Binns is my culinary consultant, occasional editor, advisor, and confidant. She is also is the esteemed author of more than two dozen cookbooks (many for Williams-Sonoma).

She has taught me much, corrected my stupidities, and sent me recipes to test for her books that always bowl me over. She teaches bread and pizza baking outdoors at her wood burning oven in Paso Robles. Follow her at TheCrispyBit.com.

Dr. Greg Blonder, Science Advisor, Mythbuster

Dr. Greg Blonder, is an amazing polymath and the AmazingRibs.com resident science advisor and mythbuster. He has a physics BS from MIT and a physics PhD from Harvard. In his life as a physicist he rose to become the Chief Technical Advisor at AT&T's legendary Bell Labs and he holds more than 80 patents in the areas of optical disk recording, integrated fiber optic devices, displays, computer systems, software, and user interfaces. He has designed furniture, electronic window treatments, and some very cool toys.

As an entrepreneur, he has been a partner at the Morgenthaler Ventures, a technology centric venture capital firm that has supplied funds to Apple among others. He has also lectured at Columbia University and Wharton, written a number of articles for Business Week, and teaches Scenario Planning part time at Parson's The New School for Design.

His love of food, especially barbecue, has brought him to food science where he conducts original research for this website, and patiently answers my dumb questions.

Jerod Broussard, Comments Moderator

Jerod Broussard is a maestro of the drum smoker and Texas barbecue in general. Born and raised in Southwest Louisiana on a rice farm, Jerod earned a Bachelor's degree in Animal Science and moved to Texas where he has been a food inspector since 2002. Don't be shy with your questions regarding chicken, Jerod inspects about 15,000 a day prior to them being chilled and processed. He's an enthusiast who can't stop smokin'.

Rick Browne, Ph.B., Writer

Rick Browne is a renowned TV cooking show host, photojournalist, and author with 15 cookbooks under his belt. He is the creator, host, and executive producer of public television's popular Barbecue America TV series, a cooking and travelogue series highlighting the world's outdoor culinary landscape. It has aired on more than 230 stations. Browne has appeared on "Good Morning America," the "TODAY" show, "Live with Regis & Kelly," and has been featured in People Magazine, Good Housekeeping, Consumer's Digest, Better Homes & Gardens, and USA Today. Browne holds an honorary Ph.B. (Doctor of Barbecue Philosophy) bestowed upon him by the Kansas City Barbecue Society for his expertise and commitment to barbecue.

Max Good, Director of Equipment Reviews & Keeper of the Flame

Max is the man in charge of finding the best products for the AmazingRibs.com Equipment Reviews section. Max loves barbecue so much that he took his barbecue sauce recipes, had them bottled, and now sells Black Swan Premium, All-Natural Sauces around the world.

Barbecue was not his first career. He earned a BA from Columbia College in Chicago and studied at the Cleveland Institute of Art and the Dana School of Music. He has been involved in every aspect of film, video and music production. He edited the 1991 Academy Award nominated documentary, "The Mark of the Maker" and "Universal Hotel", which is part of a permanent exhibit at the Dachau Memorial Museum.

Norma Goldwyn, Copy Editor

One of the fringe benefits of having a retired school teacher for a Mom is she will gladly underline all my spelling and grammar errors in bright red ink. Mom stays active editing, going to the theatre, and guides art museum tours as a volunteer. She says she's thrilled with her son's success, but still wishes he had become a doctor and really really wishes he would use the name she gave him not the nickname, Meathead.

George Hensler, BBQ Competition Expert

George Hensler is the founder and pitmaster for the competition BBQ team named "Who Are Those Guys?" They have been competing on the Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) circuit since 2007. He is a columnist for the KCBS Bullsheet and the National BBQ News and he has written two books, Totally Q, an insider's look at the crazy world of barbecue and Startin' the Fire , a "how to" book on starting your own competition BBQ team. He resides with his family in Street, MD.

Paul Huntsberger, Lead Code Warrior

Paul Huntsberger is a caffeinated rockstar programmer with millions of Twitter followers. At least, that's what he tells us. He is a lead developer at 303 Software, where he wears many hats. He says he loves "all things food and drunk" which explains why he responded to a call for help on our Facebook page. He also says he plays "music" and he is on a first name basis with every barrista in the Denver area.

Jason King, Videos

Kinger loves to cook and shoot videos. A while ago he started sending me short vids he made of my recipes and I loved them. Now many of them now appear on these pages to help you visualize the process. You can also see them on BBQFOOD4U. Kinger lives in Toronto and says "My Mother told me 'If you wanna eat you better learn to cook.' So I did. Cooking, filming, editing, and cleaning up the mess is a lot of work, but I just love to show everyone how easy it is to make delicious food."

Lisa Lynott, Artist & Illustrator

How lucky can I get? My neighbor across the back fence is an accomplished artist and she is slowly replacing my crude drawings with polished professional illustrations that explain complex concepts.

Lisa is a technical illustrator who studied illustration and graphic design at the American Academy of Art, Chicago, and scientific and botanical illustration at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, IL. A senior designer at the Brookfield Zoo, Lisa's animal and plant illustrations have appeared in publications and zoo exhibits. Other projects have included anatomical illustrations for physical therapy manuals and corporate graphics. She has also exhibited drawings in groups shows in Chicago.

Aaron "Huskee" Lyons, Comments Moderator

Born and raised in central Michigan, so he calls it "pop" not soda. His dad loved making burgers and chicken on the gas grill, and thus began his love of all things barbecue. "I love the outdoors, I love meat, and I love a good ol' bonfire so naturally I wanted to combine them."
A Certified Barbeque Judge (CBJ), he experimented for a year or so with a cheap Brinkmann cabinet charcoal smoker and graduated to a loaded Yoder Wichita offset log smoker in early 2012. He uses it as both a grill and a smoker year round with charcoal and/or logs. He works night shift in a hospital as a full time licensed and registered respiratory therapist and moonlights (literally) as a backyard pitmaster. Will competition be in his future? "We'll see," he says.

Dr. Antonio Mata, "The Meat Geek"

Dr. Antonio Mata, PhD, is a meat scientist known around the world as "The Meat Geek". He has been a Consulting Technical Coordinator to the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and the discoverer of the Petite Tender steak and the Las Vegas Strip Steak. He was also involved in the discovery of the flatiron steak. He answers my meat questions and makes me laugh. In 2013 he was #44 on the Fast Company magazine list of the 100 Most Creative People. Here's a link to an interview with him on CBS News. Also, Meatingplace Magazine did a cover story and posted videos about him and the LVSS.

James Maivald, Webmaster

Jim is head of Desktop Design in Chicago. He is an Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) and Adobe Certified Instructor (ACI) with over 20 years of experience working with graphic design and office productivity software. He has written two books for Adobe Press and hundreds of articles on graphic design and electronic publishing. He is a nationally known speaker and presenter who represents Adobe Systems at industry events and seminars nationwide. His associate, Jeremy Chambers, is a Drupal database expert and his remarkable skills created our equipment reviews database. We also benefit greatly from the consultations and expertise of Paul Huntsberger of 303software and Alex Hambrick of Cloud[8]Sixteen.

Bill McGrath, Thermometer Expert

Bill McGrath is our Thermometer Maven. He has sophisticated equipment, an electrical engineering degree from Cornell University, and an MBA (almost) from UC Berkley. Despite being mostly retired, he is still the person responsible for developing and updating all of ExxonMobil's training modules for their refinery and chemical plant electricians worldwide. He is an avid cook, oenophile, photographer, pilot, scuba diver, and motorcycle buff. He lives in a motor home and he and his significant other follow the sun. His ratings and reviews can be found in a searchable database here.

Andrew Miller, Consultant

Miller is a Boston based serial entrepreneur who has started numerous internet ventures among them CreditCards.com (sold to Click Success in 2004) and InsuranceQuotes.com (sold to BankRate in 2010). He is a consultant to Fortune 100 brands, private equity firms and venture capital companies on internet and social media opportunities. He is the founder and president of FootballNation.com, DivorcedMoms.com, Command Media, and ATM Holdings, Inc. He is amazingly expert and insightful in marketing matters and social media.

David Parrish, Pit Boss, Comments Moderator

Parrish is "Pit Boss" in The Pit, the hangout for members of our popular Pitmaster Club. has so much steel on his deck it is in danger of collapsing (six cookers and counting). Dave is a nine year veteran of the US Air Force where he flew C-130 cargo/transport aircraft in the navigator crew position. He returned home to North Carolina to settle into civilian life as an Information Systems Auditor.

Chef Ryan Udvett, Test Kitchen Director

An classically trained chef from Le Cordon Bleu in Chicago, Chef Udvett has managed several restaurant kitchens and now he manages the kitchen at AmazingRibs.com World Headquarters (Meathead's backyard). He tests recipes, offers suggestions and modifications, helps develop new recipes, and brings his excellent homemade beers to R&D (Relaxation & Drinking) meetings Friday afternoons.

Candy Sue Weaver, Moderator

Candy Sue Weaver is one of the best known and most respected people in the world of barbecue. She is President Emeritus of the Kansas City Barbeque Society, the largest barbecue association in the world and sanctioning body to more than 500 competitions. She was elected to the Board of Directors in 2009, served as president from 2011 through 2013, and was re-elected to serve on the Board until 2016. Currently she is secretary and chairman of the education committee. She also is a member of International Barbeque Cookers Association's and competes under their rules also, the Fort Smith BBQ Society, the Oklahoma Barbecue Society, the Rocky Mountain Barbecue Association, and a lifetime member of KCBS!

Her day job is VP of sales & marketing for BBQr's Delight, maker of food grade wood pellets for fuel in pellet-fired cookers and pellets for smoke flavoring. She has been competing since 2003 and has a roomful of trophies including a first place for sauce in her first competition ever. I had the pleasure of hanging out with her through a competition once and wrote this article about the experience.

Please read this before posting a comment or question

1) Please use the table of contents or the search box at the top of every page before you ask for help, then please post your question on the appropriate page.

2) Please tell us everything we need to know to answer your question such as the type of cooker and thermometer you are using. Dial thermometers are often off by as much as 50°F so if you are not using a good digital thermometer we probably can't help you. Please read this article about thermometers.

3) If you post a photo, wait a minute for a thumbnail to appear. It will happen even if you don't see it happen.

About this website. AmazingRibs.com is all about the science of barbecue, grilling, and outdoor cooking, with great BBQ recipes, tips on technique, and unbiased equipment reviews. Learn how to set up your grills and smokers properly, the thermodynamics of what happens when heat hits meat, as well as hundreds of excellent tested recipes including all the classics: Baby back ribs, spareribs, pulled pork, beef brisket, burgers, chicken, smoked turkey, lamb, steaks, barbecue sauces, spice rubs, and side dishes, with the world's best buying guide to barbecue smokers, grills, accessories, and thermometers, edited by Meathead.

Advertising on this site. AmazingRibs.com is by far the most popular barbecue website in the world and one of the 50 most popular food websites in the US according to comScore, Quantcast, Compete, and Alexa. Visitors and pageviews increase rapidly every year. Click here for analytics and advertising info.